Charli Cohen and Selfridges partner for collection and VR experience celebrating Pokémon’s 25th anniversary

Alongside the implementation of an online 3D experience, designer Charli Cohen and luxury retailer Selfridges have come together to release a collection in honour of Pokémon’s silver anniversary.

Additionally, Yahoo production house, Yahoo Ryot Lab worked with the two on the launch of the immersive shopping platform Electric/City, in the form of a 360 degree ‘cyberpunk’ video experience. Visitors to the dedicated site can ‘walk’ through a digital world inspired by international capital cities, where they can watch virtual performances and shop from augmented reality merchandise vans.

Clickable ‘plus’ symbols along the virtual streets provide further information about the collection, with almost every element taking viewers to dedicated shopping pages of both the physical Pokémon line and an additional Kaleidodrip digital-only selection.

The four-piece digital line, including rainbow-coloured jackets and bespoke Cohen looks, is part of an extended collaboration between the designer and Yahoo Ryot Lab. When bought, users can use a body-tracking augmented reality lens to wear the clothes, with the option to apply the virtual garments to a number of different platforms.

“We are focused on helping creators and brands bring their immersive experiences to life across the metaverse,” said Sam Field, director of creative technology EMEA at Yahoo, in a release. “Over the last 18 months, we’ve seen huge consumer demand for immersive experiences. For Electric/City, we’ve built what we call a Brandiverse: a hybrid of emerging technologies that create immersive brand experiences at scale.

“This project combines 3D virtual environments, 4K streaming, 3D design software for digital clothing, motion capture, blockchain-enabled digital collectables, augmented reality and more.

“As an industry rooted in innovation, our Brandiverse is a natural fit for fashion brands - embracing the power of storytelling to allow people to explore their identity through fashion in new ways and throughout their physical can digital lives.”

Pieces from the physical collection include hoodies, jackets and t-shirts starring Pokémon icon Pikachu. Once purchased, buyers can access exclusive Snapchat filters attached to each garment, while also being able to use Snapchat’s AR technology to digitally wear the garment. Buyers can further create a virtual avatar to share over multiple social media platforms.

“Our digital identity has become as important as our physical one as the line between the two continue to blur,” Cohen said. “With this first of its kind digital store, we can give customers the ability to choose whether they want a physical or digital Charli Cohen garment and if digital, what platforms they want to take it into - giving the digital clothing true utility and not just bragging rights.”

As part of the launch, Yahoo Ryot Lab, alongside Charli Cohen and Selfridges, ran a three-day in-store launch where visitors could register for a digital wallet to enter a physical easter egg hunt, with the opportunity to win physical prizes or one of Charli Cohen’s digital collectables.